ETT 229Fall 2004

Web EvaluationIntro to Web Design

Agenda

11:00-11:30 – Web Evaluation11:30-12:00 – Web Design Basics

Quizzes

Quiz 11 average: 4.04/5Quiz 12 average: 2.33/5Quiz 13 average: 2.52/5

Overall quiz average: 3.45/5 (69%)Quizzes equal 15% final gradeQuiz average = 10.35/15

Next three quizzesThree extra credit questionsUse them to get grade up

Greek Survey: 6 yes (22%), 20 no (74%)Equivalent percentages to Elementary Education professional semester 2 group

Web Resource Evaluation

Web Evaluation Checklist

CREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY

ACCURACY

RELIABILITY

RELEVANCE

DATE

SOURCES BEHIND THE TEXT

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Why Evaluate What You Find on the Web?

Anyone can put up a Web page– about anything– for pennies– in minutes

Many pages not kept up-to-date

No quality control

most sites not “peer-reviewed”

• less trustworthy than scholarly publications

no selection guidelines for search engines

CRITICAL EVALUATION

Web Evaluation TechniquesWeb Evaluation Techniques

Before you click to retrieve the page...

Look at the URL:personal page or site ?

~ or % or users or members

domain name appropriate for the content ?

edu, com, org, net, gov, ca., us, uk, etc.

Published by an entity that makes sense ?

•News from its source?

www.nytimes.com

•Advice from valid agency?

www.nih.gov/

www.nlm.nih.gov/

www.nimh.nih.gov/

Web Evaluation TechniquesWeb Evaluation Techniques

Scan the perimeter of the page

Can you tell who wrote it ?•name of page author•organization, institution, agency

you recognize•e-mail contact by itself not enough

Credentials for the subject matter ?

Look for links to:“About us” “Philosophy” “Background” “Biography”

Is it recent or current enough ?•Look for “last updated” date -

usually at bottom

•Do not trust a current date in:View | Page Info (Netscape) OR

File | Properties (IE)

If no links or other clues...•truncate back the URL

http://hs.houstonisd.org/hspva/academic/Science/Thinkquest/gail/text/ethics.html

Scan the perimeter of the page

Indicators of quality

Sources documented• links, footnotes, etc.

– As detailed expected in print publications ?

• do the links work ?

Information not retyped or forged• why not link to published version

instead ?

Links to other resources• biased, slanted ?

What Do Others Say ?

Do a link: search

How many links ?What kinds of sites ?What do they say ?

Who links to www.peacenow.org ?

link:peacenow.org

1. Copy the URL of a page (Ctrl+C)2. Go to a search engine 3. Type link: and paste in the

URL (Ctrl+V)4. No spaces before or after the :

Did a reputable source refer you ?

is the page in the Librarian’s Index to the Internet, Infomine?

Look up the page author in Google

What Do Others Say ?

STEP BACK & ASK: Does it all add up ?

Why was the page put on the Web ? • inform with facts and data? •explain, persuade? •sell, entice?

•share, disclose?•as a parody or satire?

Is it appropriate for your purpose?

Web Evaluation Checklist

CREDIBILITY / AUTHORITY

ACCURACY

RELIABILITY

RELEVANCE

DATE

SOURCES BEHIND THE TEXT

SCOPE AND PURPOSE

Web Design Basics I

Tools for Web Design

Microsoft WordMicrosoft PublisherNetscape ComposerMozillaMacromedia Dreamweaver

Netscape Composer/Mozilla

Where to find itNew DocumentDefinition of WYSIWYGSaving FilesOpening files in a Browser

Web Design Practice 1

Create a class homepage in ComposerAdd a title (Your name and fictitious class name) – make it Heading 1, centered and boldGive one sentence welcoming class – make it italics and centeredGive a bulleted list of activities they will do this semester (make up four)Save the file as lastname.htmlPreview the page in a browser (using open file command in browser)Email webpage to me at burke@niu.edu – make sure your name and Web Design 1 are in subject line and you attach the file

For next class

Read pages 82-92 in ComputersBe prepared for quiz (on lecture and book pages)